D40 Upgrade - Which camera?

Kona*

Kona*

Kona*

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Hey :)

I have had my D40 + 18-55 kit lens for just over a year now and I quite fancy a new camera for my birthday. I don't need to stick with Nikon as I only have the kit lens and will most likely be buying another kit anyway. I have narrowed it down to these options but I am looking for other suggestions too;

Canon 450D + 18-55 IS Lens - £449 with cashback

The main pro's to getting a 450D are that you can get the nifty fifty and a battery grip is available for it as I shoot a lot of portrait shots, also the extended battery life is a very big bonus. Its a shame there isn't any in body IS with it though.

Nikon D60 + 18-55 VR Lens - £410

This one is an obvious choice as I already know the Nikon menu's, although I am worried (as I am with my D40) about the choice of lenses I have. Also there isnt a battery grip available for it but the Nikon does have very good low light capabilitys (imo) - again this doesn't have in body IS which is handy at night when using a tripod isn't suitable.

Olympus E-520 + 14-40 Lens - £469

This is the most expensive out of the lot but I really like the 4/3rds system, except from the very small view finder! Again there isnt a battery grip available for this, and it takes CF cards (meaning id have to buy memory cards all over again) but the excellent 12-60mm lens is available to me with this camera and it has inbuilt IS and a very good (some say the best) dust reduction system. The E-520 also has inbuilt wireless flash support.

I shoot mostly in dark settings, at night or inside buildings with very little light - I would also like to start doing some aviation photography in the near future so a good selection of telephoto lenses would be good. Also my camera's take a bit of a hammering with dust and (sometimes) water, I do take every precaution to stop them getting dusty and wet. My D40 has stood up to this punishment so far, although my friends E-500 takes even more of a hammering and thats still going strong, also the SSWF manages to keep the dust out of his camera very well.

I have a maximum of £500 to spend on a camera with kit lens, more lenses and a couple of flash units will come in the near future :)

What do you lot think?

Cheers,

Craig
 
I don't know a huge amount about the Oly, but I see little point spending that sort of money on the 450D or D60, as neither of them are an enormous leap forward form your D40.

I'd suggest looking for a mint second hand D200 - they're down as low as £400. Either than or buy better glass now, it'll probably make a bigger difference than those 3 bodies.
 
As Tom says, id spend your money on more glass. It will have much more of an effect on images than a new body. but if your determined to get a new body, then again as Tom mentioned, look for a second hand D200 which are a bargain nowadays. As for lenses, you say you often shoot in dark conditions, so have you considered something like Sigma 30mm f1.4?
 
Messiah Khan said:
As Tom says, id spend your money on more glass. It will have much more of an effect on images than a new body. but if your determined to get a new body, then again as Tom mentioned, look for a second hand D200 which are a bargain nowadays. As for lenses, you say you often shoot in dark conditions, so have you considered something like Sigma 30mm f1.4?
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Unfortunatly I have promised a friend my D40, so new glass is out of the question for now. I have looked at the Sigma 30mm f1.4 but it isn't wide enough for most of my needs, I spend 90% of my time at 18mm and that generally isn't wide enough!

I will take a look at 2nd hand D200's - cheers :)
 
Bit of a pointless upgrade surely? Is this one of those want to upgrade, cos its better arguments? Don't mean to sound patronising, but you have not even ventured away from the kit lens, so don't understand your limitations with the camera? I own a D40, decided I wanted to take wide stuff so went 10-20, then wanted a zoom so got a 70-200, then 50mm and now a 105 for macro stuff. I am yet to have outgrown my camera, perhaps at a later date I will go for a D200/D300, but for now am very happy?

Also, given you are contemplating a D60 as an upgrade over a D40 shows you have not even come close to reaching a limitation with what you have currently.

If you are 'set' on upgrade, would go D200/D300 myself.
 
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I agree with every one here really, i dont think you would see much diff from the cost you are spending on an upgrade....Though the D200 might be the way to go if you feel you want something "more"
 
Can we not turn this into a thread telling me what I should do instead of buying a new camera please? I did think of getting new glass, but id rather have a new camera and start my glass collection now.

I took a trip into town on the weekend to have a quick look at some camera's to see how they feel in the hand. I didn't get to play around with them much as I was dripping wet and didnt want to break anything but what I did notice is how plasticy the 450D feels, is anyone else of the same opinion? Also, the Sony Alpha A300 is in with a chance at the moment too, it seemed well built and the IQ is good. Unfortunatly nowhere in town has an E-520 in stock yet - I had a little play with the E-510 and it was pretty nice, shame about the tiny viewfinder (same with the A300 too!)

Craig
 
None of those are upgrades. If you get the D60 you'll have the same issues as the D40, and the increased mp count makes no difference at all. The Canon isn't much better than your D40, certainly not worth upgrading too.

I would look at the Fuji S5 instead of the D200. It is basically a D200 rebadged by Fuji with a better sensor. About 499 now. Plus it takes all Nikon lenses, including AF lenses which wont auto focus on your D40.

Your only 'real' upgrade options right now are a D200/Fuji S5 or a D300 (which might come down in price when the D700 is released).
 
Cr4iG said:
Hey :)

I have had my D40 + 18-55 kit lens for just over a year now and I quite fancy a new camera for my birthday.

(snip)

I shoot mostly in dark settings, at night or inside buildings with very little light - I would also like to start doing some aviation photography in the near future so a good selection of telephoto lenses would be good. Also my camera's take a bit of a hammering with dust and (sometimes) water, I do take every precaution to stop them getting dusty and wet. My D40 has stood up to this punishment so far

(snip)

Craig
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I am certainly not going to tell you not to buy a new camera - it's your money after all!

Having said that, your original post does beg the question "Why?"

Are there particular limitations of your existing kit that are holding you back?

What shots do you visualise that you are unable to capture with what you have already got?

More knowledgeable people then me have already pointed out that the gear that you are looking at is not really much of an upgrade. If you address the questions above you will be far better placed to decide what you need and to forget what you want or "fancy".

Since it seems that you do a lot of low-light work I have to ask, do you have a decent tripod and the remote shutter release for your D40? If not, these should be your first consideration.

You say that you hammer your cameras - this being the case perhaps you should consider something like a used D1X - these have fallen in price to a very affordable level and would certainly stand up to any punishment you are likely to dish out (although the same cannot be said for anything that you may hit with it!). The only possible issue to consider here is the relatively poor battery life compared to the latest pro bodies - easily rectified by getting a couple of the widely available 3rd party batteries if needed. OK so it is by no means the latest kit, but I really don't see how it would hold you back while you build up a collection of glassware etc.
 
Cr4iG said:
Can we not turn this into a thread telling me what I should do instead of buying a new camera please? I did think of getting new glass, but id rather have a new camera and start my glass collection now....
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You need to start by saying what you want from the new camera. Nobody is telling you what to do as tbh, we don't really care how you spend your cash. But if you ask for advice, and we think you are wasting your money, surely we are going to advise this? Your own suggestions clearly show you don't really have much idea as to why you want to upgrade, other than you "quite fancy a new camera" and for the sake of having something new. If this is the case, then we suggested D200 which is a worthy upgrade, although if its just about having the best or latest model, then go for the D60. The suggestions you have shown are simple replacements of the D40 tbh and do not offer anything that is worthy of the upgrade price. You would seriously have much more fun, spending a bit of cash on a new lens. Do a search for on Flickr for '10-20'; and tell me you would not have more fun with some wide angle stuff than you would from a D40-D60 upgrade?
 
martinturner: I know where you are coming from and see your point, I appreciate your input :)

My main gripe with the D40 was the print sizes, I have a few photos printed and had to settle with smaller prints due to it being 6mp. Also the lack of a focusing pin is a bit of a pain, the closest thing to a nifty fifty I can get on the D40 is a Sigma 30mm F1.4 - the price of this alone would cover the cost of an upgrade to a D200 and a 50mm F1.8.

My local camera shop (independant) have just got a D200 + MB-D200 in second hand, they want £549 for it. Where are the best places to go for second hand kit? I have had bad experiences with the 'bay :(

Craig
 
Nice to be remembered.

As for my absence, rather than bore you with the tedious details I shall just say that it was due to a secondment at work which meant that I had even less free time for anything than usual.
 
Cr4iG said:
martinturner: I know where you are coming from and see your point, I appreciate your input :)

My main gripe with the D40 was the print sizes, I have a few photos printed and had to settle with smaller prints due to it being 6mp. Also the lack of a focusing pin is a bit of a pain, the closest thing to a nifty fifty I can get on the D40 is a Sigma 30mm F1.4 - the price of this alone would cover the cost of an upgrade to a D200 and a 50mm F1.8.

My local camera shop (independant) have just got a D200 + MB-D200 in second hand, they want £549 for it. Where are the best places to go for second hand kit? I have had bad experiences with the 'bay :(

Craig
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A D60 wont give you fundamentally bigger pictures than a D40. Especially if you do landscape work. Due to Diffraction by F/16 in the green wavelengths the maximum theoretical resolutions is 6-7Mp anyway on a APS sized sensor. You need a bigger sensor to break this rule, going 4/4rds system would only make things worse.

And the MP count is just one aspect of resolving power. The sharpness of the lens is more important in deciding how large a photo can be blown up.
 
If you are planning on using multiple remote flashes then I guess Nikon has that well covered with their Creative Lightning System. So looking at bodies in the Nikon range that are worth upgrading to from the D40....D200 seems to be the one to get. But £500 would get you a body, possibly at grip, so you'd need to add a bit more for decent glass....hence all the comments on spending the cash on glass now and upgrading the body later.

I have a D200, upgraded from a D50. It's a fabulous camera, built like a tank. Try it with a Sigma 10-20mm for all your indoor shots.

/my 2pence worth.
 
There's lots that has been, and can be said on your dilemma:)

(here comes my 2p!!) However, if I was you, and had £500, I'd look at either D80 or a D200 body. As you say your camera sometimes takes a hammering, the body weathersealing on the D200 alone makes it a worthwhile buy. If you can get the 18-70mm kit lens with it, it's one of the most highly rated out there...And when you want to upgrade the lenses, the sky's the limit;)

I've gone through a D50, D80, D200, and now a D300. For ~£400, the D200 body is excellent value these days - one's on my list as a 2nd body when I have the cash...
 
The D80 does have battery packs available, either genuine Nikon or third-party. And the 18-135mm lens is a much better option than the 18-55mm.
 
Cr4iG said:
Hey :)

I have had my D40 + 18-55 kit lens for just over a year now and I quite fancy a new camera for my birthday. I don't need to stick with Nikon as I only have the kit lens and will most likely be buying another kit anyway. I have narrowed it down to these options but I am looking for other suggestions too;

Canon 450D + 18-55 IS Lens - £449 with cashback

The main pro's to getting a 450D are that you can get the nifty fifty and a battery grip is available for it as I shoot a lot of portrait shots, also the extended battery life is a very big bonus. Its a shame there isn't any in body IS with it though.

Nikon D60 + 18-55 VR Lens - £410

This one is an obvious choice as I already know the Nikon menu's, although I am worried (as I am with my D40) about the choice of lenses I have. Also there isnt a battery grip available for it but the Nikon does have very good low light capabilitys (imo) - again this doesn't have in body IS which is handy at night when using a tripod isn't suitable.

Olympus E-520 + 14-40 Lens - £469

This is the most expensive out of the lot but I really like the 4/3rds system, except from the very small view finder! Again there isnt a battery grip available for this, and it takes CF cards (meaning id have to buy memory cards all over again) but the excellent 12-60mm lens is available to me with this camera and it has inbuilt IS and a very good (some say the best) dust reduction system. The E-520 also has inbuilt wireless flash support.

I shoot mostly in dark settings, at night or inside buildings with very little light - I would also like to start doing some aviation photography in the near future so a good selection of telephoto lenses would be good. Also my camera's take a bit of a hammering with dust and (sometimes) water, I do take every precaution to stop them getting dusty and wet. My D40 has stood up to this punishment so far, although my friends E-500 takes even more of a hammering and thats still going strong, also the SSWF manages to keep the dust out of his camera very well.

I have a maximum of £500 to spend on a camera with kit lens, more lenses and a couple of flash units will come in the near future :)

What do you lot think?

Cheers,

Craig
Click to expand...

http://forums.overclockers.co.uk/showthread.php?t=17888433 ;)
 
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